Purple Aster Dieteria canescens, Aster Family, Asteraceae; Biennial, short-lived perennial herb Quick ID: Look for bushy stems without sticky glands, flower heads with purple rays and yellow disk, non-clasping mid-stem leaves. Range: NR, MR, SR, Canada; widespread, common Stem: Erect, bushy upper branches, 2-4 feet tall (61-122 cm). Flowers: August-November. Heads have 15-25 purple-to-pink ray flowers, 1/4-1/2 inch long (5-12 mm); orange-yellow disk flowers; phyllary tips green, erect, spreading or curled, lower 3/4 white or tan, often with narrow green stripe down the center, no sticky glands. Leaves: Alternate. Blade stemless, linear to lance-shaped, mid-stem leaves 3/8-4 inches long (1-10 cm) by 1/16-1/4 inch wide (1.5-6 mm), not clasping stem; margins with small teeth tipped with spines. Habitat: Grasslands, sagebrush, pinyon-juniper foothills, ponderosa montane forests.

Elevation 3,400-9,000 feet (1,036-2,843 m). Long-leaf Fleabane Erigeron corymbosus, Aster Family, Asteraceae; Perennial herb Quick ID: Look for clumps of slender, hairy basal leaves with multiple branching flower stalks; flower heads packed with narrow, blue-to-whitish rays and yellow disk. Range: NR, MR, Canada; widespread, common Stem: Erect, branched, 4-20 inches tall (10-50 cm), often purplish, densely short-hairy. Flowers: May-August. Loose clusters with up to 16 flower heads, each with 35-65 slender rays up to 1/2 inch long (13 mm), light to deep blue to whitish; disk yellow; phyllaries in 2-4 rows, densely hairy. Leaves: Mostly basal, ascending; blades linear to narrowly lance-shaped, 2 3/8-6 1/4 inches long (6-16 cm); edges entire, surfaces hairy. Stem leaves alternate, smaller, 3-veined. Habitat: Dry soils, open areas; arid grasslands, sagebrush, lower montane forests.